Competitive salary reflecting qualification and experience (for appointment at Chair level)
If appointment to the Director post is made at Associate Professor level, salary will be in the range £54,637-£68,836

The University of Exeter is a Russell Group university that combines world-class research with very high levels of student satisfaction. Exeter has over 21,000 students from more than 130 different countries and is in the top 1% of universities in the world with 98% of its research rated as being of international quality.

Our research focuses on some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today.

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies has the strongest REF2014 results of any Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies department in the UK, establishing Exeter as the leader in the field in terms of research quality, impact and environment. Our international profile as a pioneering and multidisciplinary institute continues to grow.

We are looking for a leading international figure with the ability to attract world-class academics to their research group to lead the Centre for Gulf Studies, and a strong academic in Gulf Studies to assist in the delivery of an exciting new strategy for Gulf Studies at Exeter. Applicants will be innovative researchers with a strong track record of research funding and international quality publications.

The College of Social Sciences and International Studies is one of the leading research intensive groupings in the field internationally, and it incorporates the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies which is one of the largest area studies institutes dedicated to the study of Arabic, Islamic and the Middle East in Europe.

As a result of a generous benefaction establishing the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in 1999, the University has hosted three Al-Qasimi Chairs in the Institute in Islamic Studies, Arabic and Arab Gulf Studies. Applicants will become part of a vibrant research team at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, which, in REF2014, had the best cohort of results of any Middle East area studies submission. Appointments for the Directorship will be made at the level of Associate Professor; exceptionally qualified candidates will be considered for full Professor.

The area of specialism sought for the chair is broadly conceived: all areas in Gulf Studies using different disciplinary approaches and interdisciplinary methods including (but not limited to) political science, international relations, critical geography, history, literary and cultural studies, religious studies, critical studies, anthropology, sociology, art history and archaeology, and digital humanities; all areas in the study of Arabic including (but not limited to) literature (ancient, pre-modern and modern), material culture, and translation studies.

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer which is 'Positive about Disabled People'. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce.